VOL. xin. NO. 11. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



83 



Broom-corn. There has hceii a stir among the 

 l)ronin-in:\nii(acturers and otficrs within a fuw 

 (lays, ami \arat'. quantities of the growing hrooiii- 

 lirush ill HaiHey, llatfielrl anil otlii.'r riviir towns, 

 have heen imiThased at 7 cents per pound, which 

 is an advance of" one rent or more f'rotii the prices 

 Kiveii last year. Some nninfornied .of the ris(>, 

 have sold at ■•) 1-2 or 6 cents, and many are liohl- 

 iiig on, intending to get more than 7 cents. Tlie 

 crops of lirooiM corn in New-Jersey and Ohio are 

 saiil to he good, and some persons do not see any 

 snlHcient cause for the ])resent arlvance ; lint we 

 conclude that the Shakers and othfer purcliascrs 

 know what they are doing. — lb. 



Teasels. There has heen a great rise i(i the 

 price of the teasel or fuller's thistle, and some far- 

 mers in Hatfield and Williamslnirgh have lately 

 received large sums of money for the produce ol' 

 small quantities of land. Tliive or four years 

 since, teasels were sold at 75 (rents per thousand, 

 and some as low as 67 cents ; now the maniific- 

 tnnn-s give from $2.37 to 2.50 fier thousand. Two 

 farmers in Willinmslnirgh have recently sold tea- 

 sels to the amount of 1500 dollar.s. In llatfielil, ;i 

 single acre has in some instances yielded 100,000 

 teasels, whicli have hroug-ht over 237 dollars. 

 There are very few acres, however, that do this. 

 'J"wo years are necessary to bring n teasel crop to 

 maturity; the plants require mtich care and lahor, 

 and are liahle to be winter-killed and to other in- 

 juries. After the price fell to 67 or 75 cents, the 



never to admit the direct sunshine on the plants 

 when in a frozen state. When you have no glass- 

 es, the plants may be protected during winter by 

 boards or mats, giving them air in mild weather. 

 Cauliflowers sown in August or Sejitendier should 

 he r.iised carefully, and protected during the cold 

 season, in garden frames, with boards, mats, &c., 

 or perlia|/s some may survive if set in open bor- 

 ders, or they may be set in pots. Weed and thin 

 your late crops of spinach, leaving the best plants 

 at the distance of three, four, or five inches asun- 

 der. Early in October, hoe and earth up the late 

 planjed crops of cabbages, broccoli, and borecole, 

 cauliflowers and other plants of the brassica genus. 

 Towards the end of the month, if tlie stalks of as- 

 paragus turn yellow, cut them clo.se to the earth; 

 clear the beds and alleys from weeds, .and carry 

 them with the stalks ofl'the ground. It will then 

 not he amiss to cover the berls and alleys with old 

 litter, well trodden down, to be removed in the 

 spring. Or yon may apply manure now instead 

 of in spring. Cut down all decayed flower stems, 

 and shoots of the various kinds of aromatic, pot 

 and medicinal herbs, close to the plants; clear the 

 beds from weeds and litter, and carry the whole 

 ofl'the ground. Onions may now be planted out 

 to raise seed, instead of setting tliein in the spring. 

 The seeds of dill, skirret, rhubarb, sea-kale, may 

 now be sown; for, if kept out of ground till sfiring, 

 many of thetn will not vegetate till a year after ; 

 but when sown in October or November, if the 



cultivation was relinquished by many, and the I seeds are fresh and perfect they will vegetate the 

 present high [irices are owing to a great diminu- j April following. Begin to take up and secure po- 

 tion in the quantity raised. I tatoes, beets, carrots, parsneps, turnips, .rerusalem 

 The Hatfield firmers commonly have tlicir dish | artichoke, &c. Give a general hoeing and weed- 

 right side up when it rains. — lb. \ mg to all your crops, and carry the weeds out of 



the garden. Such spaces of ground as are now va- 

 cant should lie dunged, dug or trenched, and ihus 

 have the advantage of a winter lallow, and that 

 exposure to frost which will reduce it to fine tilth, 

 and destroy worms, the larvae of insects, &c. 

 The old beds of strawberries should, some time in 

 October, be cleaned from weeds, and the vines 

 or runners he taken off close to the plants ; then if 

 there be room, loosen the earth to a moderate 

 dejith between the plants, taking care not to dis- 

 turb the roots. And if the jilants are in beds with 

 alleys between, line out the alleys, and let them 

 be dug a moderate depth, breaking the earth very 

 fine and spreading a sufficiency of it over the beds, 

 between and round the beds, taking care not to 

 bury their tops. A slight top-dressing of com- 

 post such as described may now be applied. It 

 inay now be time to gather and preserve apples 

 and pears, though it is best to let them remain on 

 the trees as long as they are safe from frost. If 

 you are not apprehensive of the depredations o( 

 mice, rats, squirrels, &c. you iriay sow the stones 

 of plums, peaches, nectarines, a)iricots, &c. or yon 

 may if you think it more prudent, preserve them 

 in sand till JMarch or April. — FtssaxderCs JVtw 

 American Gardener. 



septe.mber and october. 



gardener's work. 



Hoe and thin your growing crops of spinach. 

 Sow a full crop of the prickly-seeded kind for 

 winter and spring use. Am\, at the same time a 

 good supply of the early short-tO]i, white and red 

 turnip-rooted and salmon radishes. Earth up cel- 

 ery as it advances in growth, but be careful to 

 avoid covering the hearts of the plants. This 

 work should be done in a dry day. See that you 

 do not bruise or injure the stalks ; for if they arc 

 crushed or wounded tliey will be subject lo rot. 

 Gather all kinds of seeds as they ripen, whicli may 

 be neces.-ary for the ensuing season. Towards 

 the hitler end of September, you may safely trans- 

 plant all kinds of hanly perennial, aromatic and 

 mecficiual herbs, which will thus become well 

 rooted before winter. This work should, if pos- 

 sible, be done in moist weather. Pull and pre- 

 serve your ripe onions, and sow more to stand 

 over winter. Protect your grapes and other fruit 

 against wasjis. This may be done by lianging up 

 phials of honied or sugared water near the fruit 

 you wish to dif nd from their attacks, in which 

 many of the tiny depredators will be caught and 

 destroyed. Thoroughly clean from weeds all the 

 seed-beds and ynnng plantations of trees, shrubs, 

 &c. Gather cucumbers and mangoes for pickling 

 before they spot. Sow cauliflowers about the 20tli. 



The young cabbage plants, produced from seeds 

 sown in October, and intended for early summer 

 cabbages, should be trans|ilanted into the beds in 

 which they are to remain during winter. 



Prepare a bed for them, the width of your gar- 

 den frame, in a warm, well sheltered place, w here 

 the sun hath the greatest power ; yet be careful 



RUSTIC CHAIR. 



Among the articles lately exhibited by the Hor- 

 ticultural Society at Faiieuil Hall, there were few 

 attracted more attention than a rustic chair, made 

 and |)resented to the Society by D. L. Jones ot 

 New Bedford. It is made from the rough branch- 

 es of the gnarled oak, ingeniously put together ; 

 but still retaining their original wild ami fantastic 

 appearance, which they wore when growing in 

 their native forests. — Mcr. Jour. 



cow TREE. 



Amo.ngst the great number of curious phenom- 

 ena which presented themselves to me in the 

 course of my travels, there are few which have so 

 powerfully att'ected my imagination as the aspect 

 of the cow-tree. On the barren flank of a rock 

 grows a tree with coriaceous and dry leaves ; its 

 large woody roots can .scarcely penetrate into the 

 stone ; for several months in the year not a single 

 shower moistens its foliage; its branches appear 

 dead and dried, but when the trunk is pierced 

 there flows from it a sweet and nourishing milk. 

 It is at the rising of the sun that this vegetable 

 fountain is most abundant ; the blacks and natives 

 are iIkmi seen hastening from all quarters, furnish- 

 ed with large bowls to receive the milk, which 

 grows yellow and thickens at its surface, some 

 emjity their bowls near the tree itself, others carry 

 the juice home to their children. We seem to be- 

 hohl the finiily of a shepherd who distributes the 

 milk of his flock. — Humboldt. 



USEPUI, DOG. 



A woMAiv residing in the neighborhood of Mel- 

 rose, the wife of an industrious and respectable 

 laborer, has ibr a considerable time been subject 

 to epileptic attacks which come on generally in 

 the course of the day. She has no servant, and 

 her children are too young to render her any as- 

 sistance in the paroxysms. The want of attendants 

 is supplied by a faithful and sagacious collie dog, 

 which no sooner perceives his mistress endeavor- 

 ing with difficulty to reach her bed than he runs 

 howling for her husband, and coniiiiues barking 

 and howling until he has found him, and he re- 

 turns with him to the house, the faiihful dog 

 leading the way and appearing delighted to see 

 his master coming to his wife's assistance. Upon 

 no occasion has this dog been known to neglect 

 his duly when his mistress is taken ill, and at 

 wliatever distance from home his master may hap- 

 pen to be at work, he does not cease running with 

 all his speed, howling at the time in the most pit- 

 iful manner, until he lias been able to find him. — 

 Aberdeen Herald. 



COMMUNICATION. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 SPLENDID SI7N-FI.OWER. 



Mr. Fessenden — I am not acquainted with the 

 cnlliire of the sun-flower, nor the extent of its 

 growth. But with my limited knowledge, I have 

 seen one which ajipeared to me much larger than 

 usual ; should it apjiear so to you, you are at lib- 

 erty to notice it, on that account, in your useful 

 paper. 



It grew from a chance seed and lias bad no at- 

 tention in cultivation. 



The main stalk is eleven feet three inches high; 

 eight inches in circumference just above theground, 

 and seven inches in circumference four feet from 

 the ground. Largest branch, or limb from trunk 

 four feet seven inches long ; has thirty-eight 

 branches from main stock now on it, two more 

 having been broken off by their own weight; and 

 it has now on it two hundred and forty four blow- 

 ings and buds. The largest number of blov/ings 

 and buds on one branch is eleven, and the small- 

 est number one ; no branch being destitute of a 

 blowing or bud. Essex North. 



Sept. Is/, '34. 



